WILBRAHAM - Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School Superintendent M. Martin O’Shea said he will give a presentation on the redesigned SAT at a School Committee meeting in April.

The test is being redesigned for the spring of 2016.

Students submit their test results with their college applications. Some colleges now state that the tests are optional.

O’Shea told the School Committee that the designers of the SAT are looking to design “a test that can’t be gamed.”

The SAT’s more obscure vocabulary words will be replaced by words that are common in college courses, such as “empirical” and “synthesis.”

The goal of the new test is to give less of an advantage to students who can afford expensive tutoring and test preparation courses.

The new exam will be available on paper and computer, and the scoring will revert to the old 1,600-point scale — from 2,400 — with top scores of 800 on math and 800 on what will be called evidence-based reading and writing.

The optional essay, which strong writers may choose to write, will have a separate score.

O’Shea said one goal of the new test is to make the results “less subject to test prep.”

School Committee member D. John McCarthy said he was surprised to learn that the written essay will be optional.

A long-standing criticism of the SAT is that students form wealthier households do better because they can afford expensive test preparation classes and tutoring.

The College Board said it will partner with the nonprofit Khan Academy to provide free test preparation materials for the redesigned SAT. It also said every income-eligible student who takes the SAT will receive four fee waivers to apply for college, which continues an effort the College Board has had to assist low-income students.